Theology Central
Theology Central exists as a place of conversation and information for faculty and friends of Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Posts include seminary news, information, and opinion pieces about ministry, theology, and scholarship.Athanasius the Platonist?
That seems to be what Joel Zartman is driving at.
My point is not that Athanasius was not a Christian. My point is that committed and robust 4th century Christianity found the categories of Platonism extremely congenial, greatly so. It was how they made sense of things. I don’t think we can understand these Christians without appreciating Platonism better than (in my opinion) many do (e.g. Thomas Weinandy). I certainly think the only crowd that stands to gain [from] the outdated notion that Greek philosophy corrupted Christian simplicity is that served by a more ambiguous and doctrinally impoverished religion.
AAR on Immigration Ban
The board of the American Academy of Religion released the following statement on Monday. The statement does not reflect the views of the membership.
Statement Issued by the Board of the American Academy of Religion on U.S. Executive Order “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States”
President Trump’s recent executive order limiting and banning Muslim immigration to the United States from seven countries strikes at the heart of the mission and values of the American Academy of Religion, a learned society of some 8,500 members.
Our organization is committed to excellence in the academic study of religion and to making our scholarship freely available in order to foster the larger public understanding of religion.
The ban impedes that mission. Faculty members, students, and independent scholars who study religion depend on the freedom of travel to pursue their work. Already we have received reports of scholars who have been prevented from returning home to the United States from research trips abroad. The ban will also impede international students who hope to study in the United States and to American students who plan to study abroad.
At a more fundamental level, the ban conflicts with our values. We hold dear diversity, mutual respect, inclusion, and free inquiry, all of which the immigration ban jeopardizes. The ban erodes our hope that these values will serve as the foundation for all governmental decisions regarding our members as well as our colleagues around the globe.
Finally, the ban poisons the public’s understanding of Islam in particular and religion in general. It blatantly and explicitly discriminates against Islam and Muslims, and appears to provide special treatment of Christianity. It violates our national commitment to welcome persons of all religions.
With learned societies, colleges and universities, and educational leaders across the nation, we call on the President and Congress to retract the Muslim immigration ban and to denounce religious intolerance in all its forms.
Issued by the Board of Directors in accordance with the AAR’s policy on making public statements.
Left Before Life?
Teresa Oelke at National Review explains how “Progressive Christians” are willing to sacrifice the lives of the unborn to secure their Leftist agenda.
But as the women’s march has come to a close and Friday’s March for Life approaches, recent Sojourners stories praise the former and say nothing about the latter. Sojourners has an entire series, “Why I Am Marching,” that showcases readers’ essays about attending the march to stand up for women’s rights. It has not published any essays critiquing the ethics of the march, and barely mentioned the hostility and exclusion faced by pro-life feminists who attended, some of whom were spat on.
Scott Aniol on Psalm 137
Scott Aniol of Southwestern Baptist Seminary has begun an exposition of Psalm 137. His second installment is on the historical background to the psalm.
Two of the most well-known stories from the Old Testament are specifically meant to highlight how difficult it was for the Hebrews to worship God as he had commanded in such a pagan setting. These are among the first stories children learn from the Old Testament—Daniel and the Lion’s Den and the Three Hebrews in the Fiery Furnace. In both cases, the matter in view is whether or not God’s people in exile will worship him as he commanded or whether they will give into the pressure of their pagan captors and bow to false gods. And in both cases, it is the vast minority that actually follow God’s commands; as far as we know, most of the nation forsake the true worship of God. They forget Jerusalem; they forget the Temple; these are just another way of saying, they forget the true God.
Retirement?
I don’t know who Hugh Whelchel is, but he’s spot on in this essay on Christian retirement. I thank God for “retired” people who continued to do God’s work in the churches I pastored.
Wheaton College and That Hijab
J. Daryl Charles argues that the firing of Larycia Hawkins had nothing to do with her hijab and everything to do with her theology. The essay asks:
Ultimately, do American Christians have the theological and moral backbone to stand firm in the midst of cultural hostility? Alas, most of those criticizing Wheaton College had it wrong. Truth and charity are not opposites. Charity will always seek to honor what is good and true, without compromising and without fear of “offending” others. Just ask the true martyr.
Read it all here.
Rural America and Urban Media
Writing for First Things, K. E. Columbini points out the strong bias against rural life that dominates the media.
Examples of this [rural] purge abound, mostly between 1969 and 1975: Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, Mayberry R.F.D., Lassie, Family Affair, Hogan’s Heroes, and My Three Sons; variety shows like Hee-Haw or those hosted by Red Skelton, Jackie Gleason, Jim Nabors, Andy Williams, and Glen Campbell; and westerns, such as The Big Valley, Virginian, Bonanza, and Gunsmoke. As the voice and character actor Pat Buttram said of 1970, the height of the purge: “It was the year CBS canceled everything with a tree.”
Alexander’s Counsel on the Lord’s Day
Whilst you conscientiously follow your own sense of duty in the observance of the rest of the sabbath, be not ready to censure all who may differ from you in regard to minute particulars, which are not prescribed or commanded in the word of God.
Archibald Alexander, A Brief Compend of Bible Truth, 193.
President Trump Cuts Funds to UN, Palestinian Authority
From Israel Hayom:
In final hours, Obama administration approved funds despite Republican objections • President Donald Trump reportedly plans to slash overall U.S. funding to U.N., halt funds to international bodies that grant Palestinian Authority or PLO full membership.
Read more here.
This Week’s Nick of Time
De Trinitate by Kevin T. Bauder.
On Standing While Singing
An extended biblical investigation by Central Seminary alumnus Chuck Bumgardner. Here is his conclusion:
Now, these passages are not, strictly speaking, “prescriptive” (as we may think of that term); they do not command with an imperative that worshippers of God must assume one or another posture. But it is instructive that in this sampling of passages, if anyone is sitting, it is God! Worshipers—in these passages at least—are portrayed either as bowing or standing. What implications does this have for our worship services, and our singing praise to God?
Wade Matuska Being Promoted
USAF Chaplain and Central Seminary alumnus Wade Matuska is being promoted to Major today at Larcher Chapel on Keesler AFB in Mississippi. We extend our congratulations to Chaplain (Maj) Matuska.
The Doctrine of the Trinity
What we call “the doctrine of the Trinity” is, I suggest, a formal set of conceptualities developed like this: a set of conceptualities that finally allowed (or at least was believed to allow) every text to be read adequately. As such, it is not a “biblical doctrine” in the sense of being the result of exegesis; rather, it is a set of things that need to be believed if we are to be able to do exegesis adequately as we hold to the truth of every text of Scripture. The doctrine of the Trinity is a conceptual framework that allows us to read every biblical text (concerning God’s life) with due seriousness, but without discovering contradictions between them.
Holmes, Stephen R., “Classical Trinity: Evangelical Perspective,” in Jason S. Sexton (ed), Two Views on the Doctrine of the Trinity (Counterpoints: Bible and Theology) (p. 35). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
So THAT’S How He Does It
I always wondered how Pastor Matt Recker accomplished so much. Now I know.
Daniel Wallace on 1 Timothy 2:12
This is an older treatment, but still useful. Daniel Wallace pinpoints the issues in 1 Timothy 2:12.
The force of almost every word in 1 Timothy 2:12 has been debated. This brief paper will lay out the major interpretive issues involved, without commenting on which view is superior. It will also glance at the context for support of each view.
An Epidemic of Foul Language
Jon D. Payne at Reformation 21 talks about why our words matter.
To be sure, the problem of unwholesome speech is not new. It’s been around for ages. I remember on one occasion, while I was young, my parents washed my mouth out with soap after I had used a bad word, teaching me the valuable lesson that speaking profanity is wrong and unacceptable. No, profanity itself is not new. Corrupt speech has been around since the fall of mankind. But the extensive and wide-ranging use of profanity is a new phenomena in our culture. Even some high profile hipster pastors such as Mark Driscoll have foolishly used salty language from the pulpit, seeking to connect with their younger hearers.As Christian believers, it is critical that we view this modern profanity epidemic through the lenses of biblical truth. Now more than ever, when it comes to our speech, Christians must be decidedly countercultural.
Spat Over Civics
On January 10 the National Association of Scholars published a report alleging that American universities are teaching civics in such a way as to undermine American civilization.
On January 17 Stanley Fish responded in the Chronicle of Higher Education, arguing that “Citizen Formation is Not Our Job.”
On January 24 Harriet Boyte, whom the original report criticized, also responded in Education Week with an article entitled “Does Civics Belong in the Classroom?” David Randall and Deborah Meier have also joined that conversation. (You’ll need to register to read the exchange).
Soul Force Announces Agenda for Trump Presidency
Soul Force is one of the most important organizations that “works to end the political and religious oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex people through relentless nonviolent resistance.” The organization has published its agenda for the Trump presidency here.
And here’s a sample of the Soul Force rhetoric.
If you believe that there should be no religion without a power analysis, you are home.If you believe there should be no political action without spirit, you are home.If you believe that now is the time to sabotage Christian Supremacy, you are home.
Carson on Gospel Issues
What is a gospel issue? How do we recognize one when we see it? D. A. Carson addresses the problem in an insightful essay for Themelios. Here’s one side of the story; it’s worth reading the other:
[B]ecause of the complex entanglements of theology, with a little imagination one might argue that almost any topic is a gospel issue. At one level or another, everything in any theology that is worth the name is tied to everything else, so it is possible to tie everything to the gospel. In that sense, well-nigh everything is a gospel issue.
The Trinity and the “Two State Hermeneutic?
[T]he pro-Nicene theologians quickly developed what we might call a “two-state hermeneutic.” Their description tended to draw on the language of Philippians 2 to insist that some texts spoke of the Son in the form of God, while others spoke of him in the form of a servant. This allowed the most obviously apparent subordinationist texts to be read without compromising the equality of Father and Son.
Holmes, Stephen R., “Classical Trinity: Evangelical Perspective,” in Jason S. Sexton (ed), Two Views on the Doctrine of the Trinity (Counterpoints: Bible and Theology) (p. 34). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
APPLICATION & AID